Thursday, January 02, 2014

Review - Lone Survivor (2013)

Synopsis:Based on the failed 2005 mission "Operation Red Wing." Four members of SEAL Team 10, were tasked with the mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader, Ahmad Shahd.

Lone Survivor tells the true story of four Navy SEALs who went on a mission to capture or kill a Taliban leader in Afghanistan. However the mission goes haywire and the friends find themselves fighting for their lives against the enemy. I don't think I have ever seen soldiers as battered and bruised in any war movie as I did in this one. Peter Berg's direction is commendable; Lovely cinematography and you could feel every hit, stab, gunshot and break our main characters endured. The movie moves at a brisk pace as director Peter Berg wasted no time in highlighting the horrors. It didn't even feel like two hours at all.

The action scenes are the highlight of Lone Survivor. They are all well executed and are what kept me engaged. Even though I thought our four friends (Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch and Taylor Kitsch) had chemistry, I was kinda hoping for a little more character development, seeing that the movie was based on a true story. The acting was okay but I didn't really feel a strong sense of attachment to them. However Mark Wahlberg surprisingly let loose in a dire situation towards the end. He was convincing and even delivered an "aaaww" moment. Lone Survivor serves as both a horrific portrait of war and a tribute to the fallen SEALs, and I think Berg did a decent enough job. Better than Battleship.